Church to be demolished after blaze?

The disused church to the rear of Bosworth Street, in Mansfield, was turned into a crumbling shell after flames ripped through the building on Sunday morning.

A neighbour captured the dramatic moment the fire took hold in the roof as clouds of black smoke poured out.

Crews from more than five stations attended, receiving the call shortly after 8.30am and spent more than two hours battling to bring it under control.

An investigation into the cause of the fire was launched but the cause has been undetermined - due to the level of damage and destruction, a root cause of the blaze has not been found.

However, it is understood that the sections of the building that remain standing will be brought down with a controlled explosion.

The former Christan Fellowship Church has been vacant for a number of years and had been subject to a controversial planning application to house vulnerable people on the site, which sits to the rear of Bosworth Street and Brick Kiln Lane.

It was acquired by the charity Arena church in 2010, but the congregation of the Christian Fellowship Church dwindled to around 12 people and forced its closure.

Arena had submitted plans earlier this year to convert it into a 12-bedroom property, but it was voted down by Mansfield District Council following concerns over the potential for anti-social behaviour.

Two petitions containing 139 names and 52 letters of objection were sent by those living close to the building.

But Arena has since said the fire will not deter them from developing the site.

Julie Turner, executive pastor, said: “The building has not been used for many years now but it’s a building we have been looking to use for the community and do some outreach work there.

“It’s disappointing and difficult to understand why anybody would do that, if it was arson.

“It’s looking likely that it’s going to be demolished, but we’re waiting for out insurance assessor to look into it.

“We still plan to do something there, we want to still develop that land if we can, we are not giving up, it’s just changed what we can do.

“This is not going to stop our resolve.”